Two Days
by merae2888
Summary: I found you. Words of a lover, from the lips of a monster. The trek back to Camp Jaha after 2x05, "Human Trials."


This turned out more angsty than I had planned. This is a short fic about what happened after Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia found Finn and Murphy at the village in 2x05, "Human Trials." It's rated for language. This a Bellarke friendship/comfort fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own The 100.

Two Days

 _I found you._ Words of a lover, from the lips of a monster.

No one spoke. The forest was quiet, save for their footfalls on damp leaves and dirt, and Bellamy wondered if Clarke kept hearing those words on repeat, some evil mantra that wouldn't be ignored. He wondered if those words made her fall.

She stumbled over a tree root and no one else noticed. Of course, Bellamy was paying closer attention to her than the rest of them.

She was dog-tired, her clothes spotted with blood, and her eyes hung heavily under all the death she'd seen today. She'd done everything she could, working her fingers tirelessly over the wounds of the grounders that had managed to survive Finn's massacre. The two she'd managed to save were a hollow victory.

Clarke dragged her feet, moving sluggishly, defeated in a way he didn't recognize. It terrified him. Her foot caught and she gasped. He reached for her automatically, grabbing her around the waist to keep her upright. She sagged into him gratefully. "Thanks."

"Everything okay?" Finn called from up ahead. He frowned down at them, squinting in the low light. He no longer had his rifle, it was strapped to Bellamy's back, but Octavia hovered just behind him, her sword gripped at her side, ready to spring. Murphy held his gun, finger curled around the trigger as he eyed him cagily.

Bellamy had never seen Murphy watch anyone the way he was watching Finn, almost as if he was frightened.

"Yea," Bellamy replied.

They straightened up and Clarke smiled at him briefly before trudging ahead. Finn nodded and grinned quickly before turning to lead them again. Murphy shot Bellamy a what-the-fuck-are-we-going-to-do-with-this-crazy-mother-fucker look and he could only shrug. Finn wasn't Finn anymore. Bellamy hustled to catch up to him and Clarke, unwilling to leave her alone with him for a moment.

Clarke was waiting for him and Bellamy felt an irrational wave of relief crash over him. She let Raven and Murphy go ahead of her, directly behind Finn, and she fell into step with Bellamy when he caught up to her. They moved in silence. Bellamy watched Finn and Clarke watched her feet. After a while, Bellamy noticed that her breathing seemed labored.

"You okay?" he whispered.

She paused lifted her right foot from the ground and rolled her ankle with a wince. "I'm fine."

"That was very convincing," he said dryly.

She rolled her eyes and took off before he could say another word. He stayed behind her, in case she fell again.

It was easy to forget that Clarke was not a large person. When she was in control, with multiple souls depending on her, she seemed to tower over even the largest Grounders, tough as nails, unbendable as steel. On this cumbersome trek, though, she seemed suddenly small and young and soft. He dwarfed her. The ghost of a smile flitted over his face as he imagined her no doubt visceral reaction if he ever said any of that to her face.

After nearly an hour of seeing her struggle through the forest while heavily favoring her left side, he decided he couldn't stand the sight of a suffering Clarke for one more second, damn her pride. He slowed down and allowed her to get several paces away from him before calling out to her.

She turned, her brow furrowed, "What?"

He beckoned her and she hesitated then limped over to his side. He gripped her arm when she reached him and leaned close to whisper in her ear. "How's the ankle?"

"What? It's fine." She gestured impatiently to the others that were moving steadily away of them, about to disappear over a hill. "We need to catch up."

Finn paused briefly but Bellamy waved them on and after a moment, and a shove from Murphy, they kept going.

"We'll catch up. Just need to check something first," he said to her. He fell to his knees and started tugging at the bottom of her pant leg.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He ignored her and finally managed to pull the cuff up out of her boot and expose her rapidly swelling and bruised ankle. "This doesn't hurt?" he asked.

She shook her head but he caught the small grimace of pain flash through her eyes as he pressed his fingers into her tender flesh. "Doesn't matter right now. I'll deal with it when we make camp for the night."

He frowned while standing to his full height. She wasn't going to like what he was about to do. He strapped his and Finn's rifle across the front of his body and then turned his back to her before bending down into a half crouch. "Jump on."

"Are you insane?"

He closed his eyes, seeking patience. She always had to push back, even when he was right and she knew he was right.

"If you keep going on that ankle, you won't be able to even stand tomorrow."

She huffed, annoyed with his logic. "And if you carry me all that way, you'll kill your back."

"You won't hurt me." He peeked at her over his shoulder, smiling coyly. She looked to the rise of the hill but Finn was nowhere in sight. She bit her bottom lip.

"He's not going to shoot me for giving you a piggy-back ride."

She eyed him sharply for a moment but seemed to slump into herself the next. "You sure?" she asked miserably.

They looked at each other and the terrible truth of the fucked up situation with Finn hit home in a different, terrifying way.

"It'll be okay," he said and it wasn't convincing at all.

After a few more silent seconds, she sighed. "Alright." She pressed her hands into his shoulders and hoisted herself up as best she could. He grabbed the backs of her thighs to pull her legs tighter around his waist and he was sure he heard her gasp. He stood as her arms found purchase around his shoulders. He looped his arms around her legs, making sure she was secure, before setting off after the rest of the group at a brisk pace. He slowed down when he had them in his sights. Octavia kept glancing back anxiously and she smiled gratefully when she saw them.

The sun was fading fast. They'd have to make camp soon. Bellamy's shoes crunched over leaves and sticks, his body moving strongly as he carried her. Little droplets of sweat were pearling on his neck, and she dazedly watched them as they fell down below his shirt collar.

"This wasn't your fault," he said after awhile.

She came back to herself with a small shake and tightened her grip around him in some semblance of a hug. "He did it for me."

"This is war. We've all done things."

She got quiet, her heart shrinking. "Where do we draw the line for that excuse?"

"Clarke-" he said and he despised how broken her name felt on his lips.

"He executed a man that wasn't a threat. He massacred a village that wasn't fighting back. What else does your 'We're at war' excuse cover?"

Bellamy choked down his lack of answer. He hated not being able to give her what she needed. "He loves you. Is that good enough?"

"No. It's not." She said firmly. Bellamy felt her swallow. "I don't want that kind of love."

He knew what she meant. Desperate, consuming, do-anything-for-you love wasn't the stuff of fairytales. It wasn't passionate or thrilling. It was dangerous, poisonous; it could change people. Like how he loved Octavia, enough to try and kill a man.

"You're not like that."

He sighed. _How the hell did she know what he'd been thinking?_

"I shot the Chancellor for Octavia."

"That was different. You were bribed." She leaned close to whisper in his ear. "I know you…I know how good your heart is." She sniffed. "I thought I knew him, too."

He dipped his head, touching her wrist with his chin. She pressed her forehead into his shoulder. "I'm scared, Bellamy."

"Me too." He cleared his throat and she leaned away. He'd seen Finn moon over Clarke, the awe and desire that shone in his dark, sweet eyes. All of that was gone now. He barely recognized the kid. There was some monstrous tick in his gaze now.

"We just need to get him back to camp, back to something normal. He'll calm down now that he knows you're okay." He didn't believe a word of it and he knew she didn't either but he felt her nod, her nose lightly brushing against his head, near his temple. He wondered, bizarrely, how bad his hair smelled.

"Thanks for carrying me," she said.

"Happy to be your chariot, Princess."

She laughed softly and he thought it might be enough to set the world right again.

They all hesitated around the small campfire. Octavia was the first to huff and plop down, between Bellamy and Fin. She stretched out, putting her back to her brother. She held onto the sword as she closed her eyes, the ground's perverse substitute for a teddy bear.

Finn made a motion toward Clarke and she took a step back toward Bellamy and the fucking air seemed to seize up at the tension. She dropped her eyes to the ground, so lost, and Bellamy grabbed her hand and pulled her down beside him, making the decision for her.

Bellamy only had to jerk his head at Murphy for him to move to Finn's other side. "Sit down, Spacewalker. You're spooning with me tonight.

Finn opened his mouth but whatever he saw in Murphy's face shut him up quick. They got comfortable on the ground, Murphy's gun in his hand.

"I'm beat," Finn said easily into the quiet as he closed his eyes.

"Jesus," Bellamy muttered. Clarke rubbed her temples, sighing loudly.

'What the fuck?' Murphy mouthed to Bellamy.

"You guys get some rest," Bellamy said. "I'll take first watch."

"You mean, Finn watch?" Murphy grumbled as he lay down.

Bellamy patted his leg and Clarke gratefully rested her head on his thigh. His hand fell to her hair automatically and he stroked through the grimy length, the way he used to do for Octavia when she couldn't sleep.

Finn was out in minutes, snoring softly at the stars. Octavia and Murphy eventually drifted off. Clarke fidgeted and kept adjusting her position on the ground to keep her gaze on Finn.

"Close your eyes, Clarke." Bellamy said. His voice sounded steady and strong, like it always did. It almost made her feel better. Her eyes were trained on Finn's face for a long time before she finally succumbed to her exhaustion.

A sharp jab to his shoulder woke Bellamy the next morning.

He looked up into Finn's scowling face. "Let's get moving."

He groaned and tried to shift to his back, promptly discovering the reason for Finn's irritation. He was wrapped around Clarke, her head burrowed in his chest, his arm draped over her waist. She'd been cold, practically shivering in her sleep, and he'd tucked his jacket around her and then himself when that hadn't helped.

Finn angrily kicked out the last of the dying flames in the campfire. Murphy and Octavia were already up and stretching. They both shot him somewhat panicked looks when they saw his position with Clarke. Bellamy grasped her shoulder gently. "Clarke, get up."

She made a sweet little whiny noise and inched closer to him. "Come on, Clarke," he said a bit louder. He started easing his arm out from under her head and she startled awake.

"Bellamy…what's wrong?"

He smiled at her, surprised and relieved that she wasn't upset about waking up next to him. "Time to go."

She didn't move, kept her eyes on his face. "It wasn't a nightmare, was it?"

He held her gaze, told her the truth without having to say a word. She swallowed, gathered some invisible, never depleted resolve, and rose to her feet. She didn't so much as glance at Finn.

He led the way again, Octavia and Murphy flanking him like guards and Bellamy stuck close to Clarke while she struggled on her sore ankle.

"What's going to happen when we get back?"

Bellamy had been considering the same thing. There would be questions and they would tell the truth. They had to but what Finn had done...

If they were still on the Ark, Finn would be floated. Down here, Bellamy had a sinking suspicion that whatever punishment they found fit for him would be worse than suffocating in space.

She was staring straight ahead, watching Finn walk confidently through the gate to Camp Jaha. He went up to Abby and pointed back at Clarke. She grimaced and dropped her head.

"Hey," Bellamy grabbed her hand. She turned to him and he saw tears forming in her eyes. "We'll get through it. Whatever happens now…we'll get through it. We always do."

She sniffled and nodded, squeezed his hand. She offered him a small, wry smile. "I kind of missed you."

He scoffed but grinned back. "I kind of missed you, too." She walked back into camp, knowing he was behind her.

The End.


End file.
